NASA delays testing of rocket boosters that send ships to the Moon

The Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on February 23, 2022 – Photo: NASA

The test of the SLS missile is scheduled to take place on April 7 at launch pad 39B at Cape Canaveral base, Florida. However, at the same time, a SpaceX spaceship will also be launched from platform 39A, carrying 3 businessmen and 1 former astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS). So, this SLS test will be done right after the successful launch of the SpaceX spacecraft. The 98-meter-long SLS missile will remain on the launch pad pending.

According to Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin, in the final test before launching the spacecraft to the Moon later this year, all steps of the launch process must be rehearsed, from refueling to launch. Countdown before rocket launch.

Testing of the SLS missile began on April 1 and is expected to end on April 8. However, NASA engineers encountered many technical problems as well as unfavorable weather, including the launch pad was hit by four lightning bolts during a storm on April 2.

Mr. Mike Sarafin said the above problems are not major problems and NASA engineers have not discovered any fundamental flaws in the design. He also said that tests carried out in recent days had shown “partial success”.

The Artemis 1 mission will be the first flight of the SLS rocket to bring Orion into lunar orbit. This first mission will not have astronauts on board. The timing of the Artemis 1 mission will be decided by NASA and announced after the end of the SLS rocket testing process.

NASA tests super rocket, prepares to return to the Moon

TTO – The US space agency (NASA) on the morning of March 18 began moving a new booster rocket to the launch pad before conducting a series of tests to launch to the Moon in the Artemis series of missions – a symbol for America’s new space ambitions.